PSP VITA LAUNCH TITLES

• Uncharted: Golden Abyss
• WipEout 2048
• Reality Fighters
• Little Deviants
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip
• Everybody’s Golf
• Escape Plan
• Unit 13
• Hustle Kings
• MotorStorm RC
• Top Darts

FULL PSP VITA GAMES LIST

• Army Corps of Hell, Square Enix
• Asphalt: Injection, Ubisoft
• Disgaea 3 Return, NIS America
• Dungeon Hunter: Alliance, Ubisoft
• Dynasty Warriors Next, Tecmo Koei
• EA Sports FIFA Football, EA
• F1 2011, Codemasters;
• Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7, WB Games
• Lumines Electronic Symphony, Ubisoft
• Michael Jackson: The Experience HD, Ubisoft
• Ninja Gaiden (working title), Tecmo Koei
• OddWorld: Strangers Wrath, OddWorld Inhabitants
• Puddle, Neko Entertainment
• Pure Chess, RebelPlay
• Putty Squad Vita, System 3
• Rayman Origins, Ubisoft
• Ridge Racer, Bandai Namco
• Shinobido 2, Bandai Namco
• Silent Hill: Book of Memories, Konami
• Stardrone Extreme, BeatShapers
• Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz, SEGA
•  Supremacy MMA, 505 Games
• Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, Drinkbox Studios
• The Treasures of Montezuma Blitz, Alawar Entertainment
• Touch My Katamari, Bandai Namco
• Troopies, Bloober Team
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom, Capcom
• Urban Trials, Tate Multimedia
• Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition, SEGA
• Orc Attack, Casual Brothers
• Ben 10 Galactic Racing, Bandai Entertainment
• Dragon’s Racing, Ignition Entertainment
• Robot Rescue Revolution, Teyon
• Mortal Kombat, WB Games
• Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft
• Bioshock, Take Two
• Street Fighter X Tekken, Capcom
• Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard

Available from €249.99 (RRP) for the Wi-Fi model and €299.99 (RRP) for the 3G/Wi-Fi model, PS Vita will offer uncompromised portable gaming experience, any time, and anywhere.

“PlayStation Vita is an incredible device that offers the best possible portable gaming experiences, especially when combined with social connectivity to offer unique and exhilarating experiences, unparalleled in the portable entertainment market,” said Jim Ryan, President and CEO, SCEE. “We’re very excited to launch a portable gaming device that goes beyond anything available on the market and delivers the uncompromised gaming experiences consumers have been asking for.”

The latest in a long line of PlayStation innovations to deliver deep and immersive gaming experiences, the PS Vita system brings consumers new ways to play through a unique set of features such as a stunning OLED front touch screen and rear touch pad, dual analog sticks, motion sensors and dual cameras.

With more than 80 games currently in production including LittleBigPlanet, WipEout 2048, Resistance: Burning Skies and Uncharted Golden Abyss, not to mention outings for popular series Assassin’s Creed, FIFA and Call of Duty, PS Vita is poised to deliver gameplay experiences unmatched by any other handheld or mobile device.

In addition, with both 3G and Wi-Fi support, PS Vita will draw gamers deeper into unique gameplay experiences, letting them connect and play with the world around them, including their friends and other PS Vita owners through bespoke PS Vita applications Near and Party. A variety of social networking and communications services such as Facebook, Foursquare, Skype and Twitter will also be available on PS Vita.

What’s in the box

PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi Model Crystal Black

Product name: PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi Model Crystal Black
Product code: PCH-1103
Release date: 22 February 2012
RRP: €299.99

• PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi system
• USB cable
• AC adaptor
• Power cord
• Printed materials

PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi Model Crystal Black
Product name: PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi Model Crystal Black
Product code: PCH-1003
Release date: 22 February 2012
RRP: €249.99

• PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi model
• USB cable
• AC adaptor
• Power cord
• Printed materials

There’s no doubting the massive interest in Poker over the last few years in particular. Fortunately for PSP owners, there are some great poker titles available that will offer the opportunity to practice your poker skills even when you are on the move. Let’s take a look at the range of best Poker games for the PSP and identify the truly best of the best PSP poker games, and the ones to avoid! If you are a pokerjunkie or just a beginner, there’s a PSP Poker game for you here…

World Championship Poker
featuring Howard Lederer All In

Originally released in 2006, and re-released in 2008, All In was popular with poker players because it featured all the names they were familiar with, i.e. Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Amir Vahidi,  Greg Raymer, Paul Darden, Marcel Luske, Thomas Bihl, and Erin Ness.

All In features a huge range of different poker games including favourites such as Texas Hold’em, Seven Card Stud Omaha and many more. Additionally there are  Multi-Table Online Tournaments. and a Scenario Mode. Scenario mode is particularly useful for learning and improving your poker skills in gradually increasing difficulty.

We found that playing against the artificial players was quite rewarding and really seemed quite realistic. The only complaint we have is quite long loading times from the UMD, apart from this, “World Championship Poker featuring Howard Lederer All In” is a solid poker game on the PSP.

World Poker Tour

Also released in 2006, World Poker Tour achieved higher review scores than All In. It was very popular with regular poker players not least because it featured real World Poker Tour venues such as Commerce Casino and the Aviation Club with commentary by well known poker pundits Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten. The best liked feature though was being able to play against your poker favourites, such as Antonio “the Magician” Esfandiari and, Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi, to name just two. Apparently these artificial players play just like their real world counterparts.

The most loved feature of World Poker Tour though has to be the solid online experience that allows you to play against anyone on your buddy list, complete with handy chat feature so you can trade insults! If your friends are beating you a little too often you can always dip into World Poker Tour’s included tutorials and pay heed to the games tracking system that analyses how you are playing!

World Poker Tour comes with 14 pre-set poker games, and you can even customise your own games! World Poker Tour is known as the best poker experience on the PSP, don’t miss it!

World Series of Poker:
Tournament of Champions

This 2006 version of World Series of Poker, Like World Poker Tour, is a highly regarded poker title for the PSP. Similar to how the Dirt3 racing franchise puts the player as a rookie starting a new racing career, so World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions puts new players into the Pro Circuit as a  protégé of Chris “Jesus” Ferguson. Along the route to poker stardom, the player will play against many names that they will recognise from the pro circuit including Joseph Hachem, the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion. There’s also a chance to play against the one poker player that has probably had more hits on You Tube that any other – movie star Jennifer Tilly!

Online multiplayer works great, although the offline artificial intelligence has come in for some criticism. Still, for the chance to play against Jennifer Tilly, it has to be worth it!

World Series of Poker 2008:
Battle for the Bracelets

Two years after the release of Tournament of Champions, WSP 2008 Battle for the Bracelets was released to very mixed reviews. Some players found Battle for the Bracelets to be the best poker game available for the PSP, while other found it lacking in some areas. There are in excess of 30 top poker champions to challenge in many different games. We liked the poker tutorials complete with strategy clips from Phil Hellmuth and Phil “The Poker Brat” Hellmuth Jr.

Stacked

Featuring a detailed poker school rich with tips and strategies direct from expert Daniel Negreanu, Stacked is a popular PSP Poker game with poker fans. The main reason for this, and the thing that separates Stacked from the other games, is the adaptive learning artificial intelligence that it features. For this reason Stacked has been called the best single-player Texas Hold ‘em game available for the PSP. On the downside the interface is a little clunky, but if you can overlook that, you are in for a treat.

So there you have it, poker games for the PSP really are fantastic, and if you shop around you can get the best for next to nothing these days!

Rayman is one of Ubisoft’s top titles and it’s appearance on the PSP Vita will attract a lot of interest.

Download a clip of some Rayman Vita action here.

Here’s the full press release from Ubisoft detailing their plans for the PSP Vita.

London, UK – August 17, 2011–Today, Ubisoft® announced the development of six games for PlayStation® Vita (PS Vita), the new handheld console from Sony Computer Entertainment. A recognised pioneer and leader on new platforms, Ubisoft is taking full advantage of the power of the new handheld system, as well as embracing its unique and innovative features.

Ubisoft’s diverse line-up will include new intellectual properties as well as new iterations from its most popular franchises, including Assassin’s Creed^® and Rayman^®.

“With its processing power, dual tactile screens and cameras, PS Vita allows creators like Ubisoft new and unique opportunities to develop innovative games,”said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer of Ubisoft.  “We’ve got a strong and varied line-up that will offer fun and immersion to all audiences of the PS Vita.”

Ubisoft games currently in development for the console include: Assassin’s Creed, Rayman Origins, Lumines^TM, Asphalt^TM, Dungeon Hunter Alliance and Michael Jackson the Experience.

“We’re delighted with the support and innovative content Ubisoft are bringing to PS Vita,” said Zeno Colaço, Vice President, Publisher & Developer Relations, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.  “Great games are at the platform’s heart and with some of Ubisoft’s biggest and best brands coming to PS Vita, we are very excited to work with them in delivering the deepest gaming experience on the most powerful handheld entertainment system on the planet”

Gamescom visitors will be able to see both Dungeon Hunter Alliance and Asphalt^TM at Sony’s Consumer Booth, located at Booth 1, Hall 7.

Considering the crowded handheld gaming scene, it is very surprising to see Sony bring out another PSP when industry pundits are already questioning the potential success rate for the Vita. Release date as yet for the E1000, is unknown, but it is going to retail for around $140 – smack into the 3DS price point. PSP fans must be wondering what Sony are playing at, can a stripped down PSP really compete against the innovation of the Nintendo 3DS?

So, despite the fact that a brand new, boundary breaking hand held device like the 3DS from gaming giants Nintendo is still in it’s post launch honeymoon period, the creaky old PSP is still more than holding it’s own. To be fair, the 3DS is actually a very good device and the fact the PSP is outselling it, is quite an achievement.

This information comes on the back of other related Sony news that revealed the Sony PS3 is easily outselling the X360 at the moment.

Go Sony!